Young gun Murray set to step into Stringer’s boots

CONOR MURRAY is in line for a starting place for Munster in tomorrow night’s Magners League clash with Leinster, intensifying debate over the No 9 jersey for the province’s European quarter-final in Brive next week.

The Garryowen scrum-half will be named today ahead of Peter Stringer for his third consecutive Munster start after impressing in the two previous outings against the Dragons and in Cardiff a week ago.

With Tomás O’Leary still unavailable with an eye injury, Murray has eased ahead of Duncan Williams and into a straight head-to-head with veteran Stringer for the start against Brive in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final tomorrow week.

Munster’s team announcement for tomorrow’s night’s derby will also provide an insight into Tony McGahan’s thinking for the French test.

Paul Warwick has returned from family commitments in Australia but with a departure to France at the end of the season, McGahan will clearly be tempted to continue Felix Jones’ development at fifteen.

Denis Leamy and David Wallace will be joined in the back row by James Coughlan. Veteran Munster flanker Alan Quinlan will announce his retirement shortly.

Quinlan, who joined Munster in 1996 and has played 204 times for the province, will bring the curtain down on a career that has earned him 27 Ireland caps at the end of the season.

The Tipp man, who missed out on the 2009 Lions tour of South Africa because of suspension, can lay claim to a brace of Heineken Cup medals, plus Celtic Cup and Magners League medals among his prized possessions.

Quinlan’s season has been disrupted after dislocating his elbow against Connacht last December and will announce his retirement before the end of this season.

Munster will entertain arguably the best side in Europe at present at Thomond Park tomorrow night — at least in the eyes of former Leinster out-half Felipe Contepomi. The Puma skipper, preparing for a Heineken Cup quarter-final with Toulon next week, is hoping to go all the way to May’s final, where he anticipates a reunion of sorts with old colleagues.

He described Munster as an exceptional outfit but reckons the current Leinster team is better than Munster, even at their peak.

“Leinster have been one of the best teams in Europe over the last three seasons, they proved it by winning the Heineken Cup and proved it in terms of the style of rugby they play. They’ve gone from strength to strength and they have a really good chance of making it the whole way this season.

“They aren’t scared since they won the Heineken Cup; all that talk about Leinster bottling it is now firmly in the past, they have proved themselves (as winners) and won respect because people appreciate the style of rugby they play.

“You can compare them to Toulouse and you can’t argue with their style of rugby; they have spirit, courage and physicality.”

Knowing the intensity of Munster-Leinster clashes, Contepomi figures tomorrow night’s Magners League clash could go either way.

“Obviously, these games depend on circumstances at the time and often on the day, but there is always one common ingredient – the game is lived throughout the week in the two provinces. It is a very special game and the supporters keep talking about it for up to a month.

“It’s one of those games that as a player you want to play in, you want to experience it and be part of it.

“I don’t know whether in rugby terms there is a comparison from my experience, maybe Toulouse and Stade Francias people might say there is, and there are a couple of clubs in Buenos Aires, who draw their players mainly from one school, but they’re not quite on the same scale as Munster-Leinster for me.”